DISPUTE RESOLUTION: WHERE WE ARE AND THE PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE

Early in 2016, the International Mediation Institute (IMI) launched the Global Pound Conference (GPC). The goal of this initiative is to have a modern conversation about the dispute resolution field, globally. The initiative is broader than mediation and, in fact, covers the spectrum of dispute management and resolution processes including what is desired to assure access to justice.

At each event a series of 20 questions are asked to probe attendees’ views and determine the needs and wishes of participants in dispute resolution proceedings and what they seek in the future. Attendees are classified into five categories and efforts are taken to ensure that all categories are represented at the events.

There are commitments for events in 40 locations and 31 cities from March 2016 through July 2017. Seven events were held from March through October covering both civil and common-law jurisdictions. The results are interesting in the similarities of the responses despite legal structure, culture and regional differences. In October, IMI published its “2016 International ADR and Mediation Survey: census of Conflict Management Stakeholders and Trends” which provides additional insight into the dispute management and resolution field from the standpoint of the IMI community.

This article focuses on a few user and adviser views of each other and their positions on dispute management and resolution drawn from the GPC results and the Survey.